The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1887-07-14
"HALLES CENTRALES.-
THE PLACE WHERE THE PARISH
ANS BUY THEIR FOOD.

An Enormous Market House with Acres
Under Cover-Methods of Buying and
Selling-Stirring Scene at 4 O'Clock in
the Morning.
There are now twelve pavilions of iron
and glass at the Paris Halles Centrales.
Each one seems to be devoted to differ
ent sort of edibles, and yet the space thus
allotted under cover is little more than
half large enough for the city's needs.
The four largest payilions are those where
fish, poultry, vegetables and dairy prod
uce are sold. All the pavilions are well
ventilated, the stalls are commodious and
''down among the dead men, are base
ment cellars, where the stall renters are
permitted to store such imperishable
goods as they have been unable to dis
pose of in the course of the day.
The wagons bringing the meat from
slaughter houses and poultry from trains
begin to arrive about II o'clock in the
evening, and they continue coming
throughout the night. The employees lift
out the baskets ard arrange them along
the sidewalks. In each basket is the car
cass of an animal, either whole or cut I'D
into quarters, and carefully wrapped up
in stout canvas; also label bearing the
name Of the sender, the weight of the con-
tents and sort of bill of lading, which is
handed to market official, who makes
from it his memoranda. Then a number
is placed on all the merchandise which
comes from the same shipper, after which
the boardof health inspector makes his
examination, marks V ON all meat that
he considers fit for food and has the rest
70 TDIa 70 I>o
more carefully later on. When it is
finally found unfit to eat it is confiscated
and either sent to the Jardin DIES Plantes
to be thrown to the wild animals, or is
totally destroyed.
In the meantime the forts de La halle,
Or market porters, have commenced their
part of the common work. Handling the
meat which has passed inspection with
large iron hooks, they carry it to the pub
lie weighing station, and when the weight
of each piece has been twice recorded,
once by the clerk of the conSignee and
once by the city's employe, a label is fas-
tened to it with galvanized iron pin, and
then the meat is hung up in rows to be
sold, In erie, or at public auction, to the
retail dealers, and as the pieces are sold
the name of the purchaser is written on
the other side of the label.
This is the routine for carcasses and
quarters already prepared, but there is
other meat in large quantities which has
to undergo two operations known as the
epluchage trimming and the decoupage,
or cutting up. This is done by five men,
and is difficult and sometimes dangerous
work. The decoupeurs wear a sort of
cap, to which a lighted candle is fixed;
this is the only light that they have to do
their work by, and it must be executed
with great rapidity in the midst of crowd
OF porters and other market hands. There
are, it is true, few gas Jets here ana
there, but not enough of them to enable
the inspectors and cutters to do their work
properly. Why don't they burn more
gas? We'll, because it is known in Paris
that gas is q bad thing for meat and other
food, and the less of gas there is used
about catabies the better for mankind.
Four o'clock is the hour when the vente
q Ia criee begins. The din is appalling.
Strong armed wenches, men and boys are
rushing about or pushing trucks bearing
hampers full to the brim, and statesmen
perched aloft in small pulpits bawl their
offers in voices which sound like dismal
howls under the zinc roofings, while Gus
toners bid in the same strain. The buyers
at this early hour are stallkeepcrs, proprie-
to hospitals OF asyiumS. These people, by
coming carly, get their provisions much
cheaper than the public will do in the
course of the day, though this is not true
of fish, which is subject to astonishing
fluctuations. The wholesale selling ends
at 6 o'clock, and now cooks and poor wives
make their appearance by thousands.
1t is o curious and an instructive scene,
assure you, that of the markets at an
early morning hour.
The street is so crowded with people
that wheeled vehicles cannot enter; but
beyond the church stand rows of cabs,
with their horses heads facing the shops
on the other side of the little rue that runy
along the front Of the ancient edifice.
Here on the sidewalk stand hundreds of
baskets of fruit, grapes ard whitish
brown things that on closer inspection
prove to be mushrooms. There is a wide
passage between the two lines of pavil-
ions, and at this early hour this passage is
that lovely that even you, good people of
the golden coast, would cry out: eye
gods! how beautiful The colors of all
the rainbows that have arched them
selves over the earth since Noah went
yachting greet our eyes. 1t is paradise
of roses, camellias, yiolets, /primroses, Of
all the flowers in the world, at least it
seems SO. Farther on are things which
English people call roots, but which we in
our superiority pronounce vegetables Hum
dreds and hundreds of rows of red carrots,
as many more rows Of white turnips;
rows three OF four feet high, mind you,
and so skillfully piled that 10 vestige of
the green stems can be seen, and yet to
each root is such an Gppendage. And the
cabbages and the cauli1owers! and the
baskets of string beans and peas! and the
green stuffs for salads and the potatoes,
| "Arrah, the spudsr' as l heard the gentle
mamie may even now be one Of our first
citizens for all 1 know-say once upon
time in Dublin.
A little further on are the fishes, on
wicker platter5, like round basket lids
with handles on either side, turbot,
skate, mackerel, sole, salmon, perch, ETC.,
in ten, fifteen and twenty pairs at time.
These fishwomen are not those of Billings
gate, but they will do. / have 10 wish to
come into contest with muscular red
| arms; and, phewl heaven knows they are
| Just now strong enough to knock John
Sullivan himself out of time Parisians
| like fish, and consume yearly an average
of very nearly 81 600, coo pounds thereof
Henry Haynie in San Francisco Chronicle.
|